Friday, December 20, 2013

Inflation remains at 3½-yr record



Year-on-year inflation inched up by 0.1 percentage points last month to record a rate of 13.2 percent, the highest rate since March 2010 official figures from the Ghana Statistical Service have showed.


The data showed that housing, water, electricity, gas, fuel and transport were the main price drivers between October and November.

The monthly change-rate for last month was 0.8 percent, against the 2.3 percent recorded in October.
Acting Deputy Government Statistician Mr. Baah Wadieh, speaking at a news conference in Accra on Wednesday, said that the food and non-alcoholic beverages group recorded an average year-on-year inflation rate of 7.3 percent, 0.4 percentage points higher than the 6.9 percent recorded in October 2013.

Mr. Wadieh explained that the price drivers for the food inflation rate were fish and sea foods, which recorded an inflation rate of 9.2 percent, with mineral water, soft drinks and fruit juice recording a rate of 9 percent, and cereals and cereal products recording 7.9 percent.

The non-food group also recorded an average year-on-year inflation rate of 17.6 percent in November as against the rate of 17.7 recorded in October, with four sub-groups recording year-on-year inflation rates above the group’s average.

He said housing and utilities recorded the highest rate of 34.1 percent with transport following at a rate of 26.4 percent, followed by miscellaneous goods and services at a rate of 17.8 percent.

“The year-on-year food inflation rate of 7.3 percent was about two and a half times lower than the non-food inflation rate of 17.6 percent. Clothing and footwear recorded an inflation rate of 17.7 percent, while communications recorded 4.3 percent, the lowest in the non-food group,” he stated.

On regional inflation, the rate ranged from 6 percent in the Upper East Region to 14.9 percent in the Greater Accra Region, with four regions -- Greater Accra, Western, Eastern and Ashanti -- recording inflation rates above the national average of 13.2 percent.

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